🌈 🕊️Steps of Hope: How Oak Lawn United Methodist Church Painted Love into the Streets

Oak Lawn UMC, a proud Reconciling Congregation, openly affirms full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in every part of church life from leadership and marriage to ordination and membership. https://olumc.org

Dallas church turns its front steps into a rainbow palette of welcome, a “prayer of sacred resistance” in tough times

By Gina Hill | Alaska Headline Living | November 2025

On a crisp Sunday morning in late October, the congregation of Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas gathered not just for worship but to consecrate a bold, colorful gesture: the church’s front steps now shimmered with the full spectrum of the rainbow. The sign? A simple but powerful statement: you are safe. You are seen. You are beloved.

Why paint the steps?

In early October 2025, Texas’ governor issued a directive urging cities and counties to erase rainbow crosswalks and other public imagery deemed “political ideologies” from roadways. For a church located in Dallas’ historic LGBTQ-neighborhood, this moment sparked more than a response. It called forth an act of visible love. facebook.com+3chron.com+3wfaa.com+3

The church’s senior pastor, the Rev. Rachel Griffin‑Allison, frames the painted steps as “a prayer of sacred resistance, declaring that God’s love will not be silenced or painted over.” On the church’s own social media page, the message is clear:

“We are painting our front steps in the colors of the rainbow because silence is not love. We want every person who passes by to know: you are safe, you are seen, you are beloved by God.” facebook.com

A community rooted in welcome
Founded in 1874, Oak Lawn UMC sits at the corner of Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue, the heart of a neighborhood that has long been a sanctuary for LGBTQ people in North Texas. The church, acknowledging that it “didn’t always show up for the community in the way it should have,” has grown into a place offering fellowship, meals, recovery groups, and sanctuary for all who seek it. 

In this moment of statewide pressure and erasure of queer-affirming public art, the decision to turn steps into something meaningful was deeply intentional.

The act of painting

The project began quietly: congregants and volunteers lifted brushes early one morning, applying layer after layer of paint. As one report noted, the church estimated several coats plus a non-slip seal would be required to complete the work. Them+1 Coming out of the city’s crosswalk debate, the church stepped (literally) into a visible role, not just as worshippers, but as witnesses.

At the consecration service held Sunday, November 2, church leaders and community members gathered around the newly painted risers. Pastor Griffin-Allison led a call-and-response: Love belongs in public. The steps, in all their bold color, were more than paint; they were a public declaration of belonging.

What it means going forward
For many in the neighborhood, the rainbow steps are a beacon. Couples returning home after their wedding snapped photos amid the painted stripes. Community members honked cars in celebration. This is a place where welcome isn’t just preached, t’s painted.

As the paint dries the message remains clear: the church is open, its doors wide; its steps proclaim a gospel of inclusion. In a time when many symbols are being challenged, the steps at Oak Lawn UMC stand firm: you belong here.

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